The present invention relates generally to a drain assembly for a cooking appliance and, more particularly, to a drain assembly for diverting cooking effluent into a grease/water separator.
A combination oven uses both steam and radiant heat in the cooking process. Typically, these ovens use a steam kettle to generate steam for the cooking chamber. The steam kettle must be periodically flushed to remove any limes, scales, or precipitate from the steam kettle. The flush cycle completely purges the water in the kettle by means of an internal pump or line pressure arrangement. This flush sequence can propel twenty to twenty-five liters of water through the kettle and into the combination oven. The flush water exits a discharge port in the oven in a short (30 to 60 second) time frame. These ovens typically use a condensate discharge pipe with an outer diameter of 50 millimeters. Therefore, the entire pipe cross section must be available to allow for such a high volume of water to be discharged in that time.
However, during the cooking process, condensed steam and grease exit the cooking area of the oven through the same discharge port in the oven as the flush water flow. This flow of condensed steam and grease exits at a much lower flow rate. It typically has been directed through the same drain line with its eventual discharge into a sewage outlet. In many applications, the grease tends to solidify within the drain pipe. Once that blockage occurs, the large flow of flush water cannot escape the drain pipe at a proper rate of speed. This backup may cause water to pool in the bottom of the appliance or leak out of the appliance through areas other than the drain. This backup may also cause contamination of the cooking racks and/or the food products placed on the cooking racks. Thus, there is a need to ensure that the drain pipe remains clear from any grease or other residue.
Further, the clogging of the drain pipe by the condensate from the cooking appliance causes drainage problems with other appliances connected to the drain pipe. Thus, there is a need to separate components of the condensate flow which could cause an obstruction within the drain pipe. In that regard, there is a need to divert the condensate to a grease/water separator or other pollution control device so that those components can be separated from the condensate stream thereby allowing a flow that is predominantly water to be discharged into the building's drain system.